SSS 2012-08-09
时间：2019-01-08 作者：英语课 分类：Scientific American(八)月
英语课
This is scientific American sixty seconds science, I'm Cynthia Graber, this will just take you a minute.
Tea and coffee are drunk worldwide, far beyond their original ecological 1 niches 2. Now it looks like another caffeinated beverage 3 also gained popularity far from its home.
Archaeologists call it Black Drink—a caffeinated brew 4 of toasted leaves and twigs 5 of the holly 6 plant. It was imbibed 7, often ceremonially, in many regions of the Americas. Researchers say they’ve found the earliest trace of Black Drink—in a region that doesn’t grow holly.
They investigated Cahokia, a large pre-Columbian political body. It encompassed 8 floodplains and hills near today’s Saint Louis. It’s tough to find plant matter, so scientists searched for traces of theobromine, caffeine and ursolic acid in ceramics 9 in the right proportion—a sort of chemical signature for holly. And they were able to date Black Drink back to about the year 1050, almost a thousand years ago. But the nearest holly grows hundreds of miles away.
The findings are in the Proceedings 10 of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers say this is the earliest evidence of Black Drink consumption. And that Black Drink was traded for ritual consumption far from where it was grown. Much like our morning cup of joe.
Thanks for the minute for scientific American sixty seconds science. I'm Cynthia Graber.
adj.生态的，生态学的
- The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
- Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.
壁龛( niche的名词复数 )； 合适的位置[工作等]； （产品的）商机； 生态位（一个生物所占据的生境的最小单位）
- Some larvae extend the galleries to form niches. 许多幼虫将坑道延伸扩大成壁龛。
- In his view differences in adaptation are insufficient to create niches commensurate in number and kind. 按照他的观点，适应的差异不足以在数量上和种类上形成同量的小生境。
n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料
- The beverage is often colored with caramel.这种饮料常用焦糖染色。
- Beer is a beverage of the remotest time.啤酒是一种最古老的饮料。
v.酿造，调制
- Let's brew up some more tea.咱们沏些茶吧。
- The policeman dispelled the crowd lest they should brew trouble.警察驱散人群，因恐他们酿祸。
细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )
- Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
- Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。
n.[植]冬青属灌木
- I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
- People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。
v.吸收( imbibe的过去式和过去分词 )；喝；吸取；吸气
- They imbibed the local cider before walking home to dinner. 他们在走回家吃饭之前喝了本地的苹果酒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Hester Prynne imbibed this spirit. 海丝特 - 白兰汲取了这一精神。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
v.围绕( encompass的过去式和过去分词 )；包围；包含；包括
- The enemy encompassed the city. 敌人包围了城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- I have encompassed him with every protection. 我已经把他保护得严严实实。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
n.制陶业；陶器
- an exhibition of ceramics by Picasso 毕加索陶瓷作品展
- The ceramics bore the imprint of Luca della Robbia. 陶器上印有卢卡·德拉·罗比亚的字样。
n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报
- He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
- to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼